Red, white, and the blues

He lied about his age to join the Navy. He lied about his reasons too.

Decades later, he is grateful his plans didn't work out.

To be sure, Will* did succeed in part. He enlisted, and sailed the world through treacherous World War II seas. He excelled in hand-to-hand combat. At each port-of-call, he stayed on board to practice his skills.

And then the day came. The day he returned home to kill his stepfather with his bare hands.

There was just one problem.

While he was away, his stepfather died. This news filled him with despair -- not because the man had died, but because he could not be the one to end the life of the man who brutally beat him with tire chains.

For years, Will lived with unsettled rage. He was a depressed vagabond. And then one day, his wanderings lead him home.

"I met my other half. And through her, I learned to accept that am loved by the Author of love."

Over time, Will learned to forgive, and even love, the man he once planned to kill.

John 15: 12 says: Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

* Will is a pseudonym.